Key Takeaways From AMA Higher Ed

Gene Begin, Managing Director, CP Education
Alyssa Stevens, Global Director of PR, Social Media & Influencer Marketing
Erin Mullaney, Media Director

The American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education recently brought together more than 1,800 attendees from colleges, universities and higher education partners, the largest gathering in the history of the event AND the largest-ever symposium event for AMA, no matter the industry. 

The conference highlighted the importance of understanding people—especially the varied mix of higher education stakeholders—and the ways in which inclusivity, authenticity, and personalization are shaping higher education marketing. Here’s four themes we gathered from the insights shared.

Put People at the Center of Your Marketing: From Storytelling to Crisis Management

At the heart of the AMA Higher Ed conference was a call to center “people” in all aspects of marketing. This theme was underscored by nearly every keynote speaker. Whether discussing student-centered creative, generational differences, storytelling or crisis management, having a people-first mindset to your marketing and communications was paramount.

Keynote speaker Steve Robbins challenged the audience to rethink inclusion and recognize that our brains are wired to seek belonging. Our brain desires two things: to be part of a tribe and to be valued by that tribe. Yet, we also struggle when it comes to embracing difference. This makes inclusion a deliberate effort—especially in the context of higher education marketing where diverse student populations demand more than token gestures of representation.

Inclusion can’t be just a buzzword—it requires intentional action, thoughtful representation, and commitment to fostering a sense of belonging for all audiences. After last year’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, intentional inclusion marketing strategies are even more important than ever.

Authenticity, Trust and the Power of the Messenger

A significant portion of the event focused on the evolving expectations of Gen Z and Gen Alpha—two generations that are shaping higher education. 

“The messenger matters” was not only a great session led by Jeremy Tiers from Tudor Collegiate Strategies and Brian Piper from the University Rochester, but it was also a recurring theme throughout the conference. It’s no longer enough to create great content—you also need to think about who is delivering that content and how they resonate with your target audience.  Considering prospective students often are creators themselves, they are increasingly turning to social media influencers and content creators as their trusted sources for information due to the authenticity of their message.

This need is exacerbated by the general distrust these generations have in established organizations. This skepticism even extends to established digital platforms. YouTube and TikTok have overtaken Google as the preferred search tool for these generations, despite Google’s 88% share of search engine advertising. YouTube is also eating into the podcast space of Apple and Spotify due to video becoming a more preferred modality for podcast viewing.

Additionally, personalization is an important strategy to gain trust and show prospective audiences you are authentically trying to build a relationship with them. While only 18% of students believe higher ed’s communications feel personalized (per Tudor Collegiate Studies research), one college they worked with tested the impact of personalized, one-on-one counselor interactions and saw the likelihood of enrollment increase by 2.8 times. This kind of personalization can be a game-changer for colleges looking to convert prospects and applicants into enrolled students.

This session also made me think more deeply about what “feel” means when prospective students say that “it just felt right” when being asked why they chose a particular institution after a campus visit. More likely than not, that “feel” was generated by human interactions with the community. And research from the Edelman Trust Barometer confirmed that humans are the most trusted source of information, not a surprise considering word-of-mouth is still the most successful marketing tactic of all-time! 

Institutions that prioritize human connection—whether through counselors, faculty, parents and families, or peer networks—will gain a competitive edge in this era of distrust. With search intent and authentic messaging preferred on social channels, higher ed marketers need to shift their approach to prioritize these channels. If you want to stand out, use influencers who feel authentic and relatable, and focus on building personalized experiences that demonstrate a genuine investment in student success. 

Reframing Marketing for a Low-Trust World

In addition to influencer marketing in education, sessions explored other strategies for succeeding in a low-trust world. In a time when misinformation runs rampant, higher education marketers need to embrace “non-obvious thinking,” as coined by keynote speaker Rohit Bhargava. A few of his standout recommendations included:

• Stand for something – Develop a clear institutional identity and mission, and tell that story consistently.
• Embrace the conversation – Engage in two-way dialogue with prospective students and families. Marketers need to be listeners as much as they are speakers.
• Expand your audience – Diversify your approach to recruitment, focusing not just on traditional high school students but also on adult learners, international students, and underrepresented groups.

To break through the noise, higher ed institutions need to differentiate and be bold in standing for values and missions that resonate with the students they seek to enroll. The sheer volume of tuition increases and the increased competition for students has made differentiation more critical than ever. In the last 18 years, tuition industry-wide has skyrocketed by 506%, and yet many institutions still rely on the same tired marketing tactics based on geography, demographics, or selectivity.

VIV Higher Education led a session with great recommendations on the digital advertising front. They suggested your targeting strategies should aim to connect with students who are similar to those who already enrolled—focusing 80% on list-based targeting efforts and reserving 20% for experimenting with new audiences. Additionally, institutions must consider the full funnel of recruitment, allocating marketing budgets across awareness, recruitment, and advocacy stages.

They typically recommend 10-30% of budget in awareness, 60-80% in recruitment and 10% in advocacy.

With the long decision cycles for both undergraduate and graduate prospective students, creating awareness and nurturing long-term relationships is essential, so we would recommend the higher end of those awareness budget percentages. Additionally, every graduate program is unique, so whether using an area-of-study cluster strategy or a priority-program advertising approach, tailoring it to your specific university’s portfolio is important.

Summary

As higher education marketers, the time has come to embrace a people-first approach, grounded in authenticity, personalization, and inclusivity. The changing landscape requires a shift from traditional, one-size-fits-all marketing tactics to a more nuanced, human-centered strategy that resonates with today’s diverse audiences and skeptical, value-first populations. By incorporating some of these insights from AMA, institutions can build stronger connections with prospective students and position themselves for success in an increasingly competitive market.